Dec23

“how many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.” ― coco chanel

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my class was interested in learning about snow

they knew that it:

comes from up there 

falls down to the ground

is cold

tastes like peppermint 

and 

you can make stuff out of it. 

they wanted to learn about snowplows

so we invited our school’s snowplow driver

over for a visit

everyone put on their winter gear 

headed outside 

where he

showed them his truck

put on the lights 

moved the plow up and down

and 

pushed the snow around the circle

then

we invited him into our room

to ask him questions

and learn more about him

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he told the kids

to call him roger

he was very gentle and kind

he has been here for 28 years

this is his last snowplow winter

he answered every single question 

 listened to every single comment about snow

 they asked him what he does

when he’s not plowing

 they were surprised

he lives on 20 acres

has fainting goats, black swans and an aviary of 500 exotic finches

 decorates peoples houses for the holidays

is a father and grandfather 

and

a horticulturist 

who helped to create the children’s garden at our school

he is more than what they saw

when they saw him plowing the snow

now they know him as a person

now they will wave to each other

now they know how he helps our community

now they know how much more there is to his story

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 when he was finished 

and it was time

for him to go back to his work

the children gathered around him and gave him hugs

they know a good person when they meet one.

—
“i  hope I didn’t bore you too much with my life story.” – elvis presley

69 responses »

  11. Okay, you gave me goosebumps with this story. You should be a teacher in EVERYONE’S classroom and office – bring in a new person every day to tell their story, to humanize them, to bring them to ‘light,’ which in turn will light up the souls of those who listen. Sorry, I got rambunctious here, but ah, how your snowplow man and you and your students gave me hope today.

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    • thank you so much. i think it’s important for them to know all of the people around them who help to keep their community going. so far, we’ve had our security guard and our custodian. we found out some wonderful things about each of them. )

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  12. Beth I know I tell you this a lot but it is the truth the kids that have you for a teacher are very lucky and this is a good example of that luck. We never see a person for what that are until we look deeper and get to know them better. I love the snowplow man Roger and what good he does and so does the children but they wouldn’t have know him if you hadn’t taken the time to ask him to class to talk about snow and what he does. Awesome and very smart. Thanks!!! Wish I had a few more teachers like you. ❤ ❤

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  13. This is a true Christmas Story, my dear friend Beth. Thanks for giving us joy today after Roger brought it into the hearts of your little ones.

    And now I need to look up to the sky at the right time to test if snow indeed tastes like peppermint.

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  17. What a wonderful experience for both your kids and Roger the so much more than a snowplow driver. He sounds like a gentle soul and you are right in that kids know good people when they meet them.

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